FOXBOROUGH, Mass. — The doors to the New England Patriots’ team store opened 30 minutes ahead of schedule Saturday. That was not the plan, but there was really no choice.

By 9:30 a.m. on what became a brutally hot day, a line of fans had already snaked around the store to take advantage of the team’s weekend-only jersey exchange offer. Fans came with Aaron Hernandez jerseys, either the No. 81 he wore in 2012 and 2011, or the No. 85 he had as a rookie in 2010, when Randy Moss wore No. 81 for four games before being traded to Minnesota. Forty miles away in North Dartmouth, Mass., Hernandez sat in jail, charged with first-degree murder.

The fans entered a white tent adjacent to the store, directed by a sign reading “Jersey Exchange.” They were then given tickets, similar in appearance to theater tickets, which entitled them to swap their Hernandez jersey for a replica of another player’s.

Ninety minutes after the store opened, the Patriots said more than 500 jerseys had been exchanged. By 5 p.m., the number had grown to nearly 1,200, of which 25 percent were youth jerseys.

The two kinds of game jerseys cost $249.95 or $99.95. The youth replica jerseys cost $69.95. Women’s jerseys retail for $94.95. Stacey James, the team’s vice president for media relations, estimated the value of the exchanged jerseys to be $200,000. The exchange ends Sunday. James said the Hernandez jerseys would be destroyed in an eco-friendly way.

There were some restrictions. The Hernandez jersey had to have been purchased at the Patriots Pro Shop, although no receipt was required, and there was a limit of one exchanged jersey per customer. The exchange was also limited to officially licensed N.F.L. merchandise, Nike or Reebok products, sold at the store or through its Web site.

Women and youth jerseys were available only for Brady, Gronkowski and Wilfork.

The Patriots announced the exchange June 28, two days after Hernandez, one of the team’s top players, was arrested. The team waived him immediately after his arrest but before the murder charge was made public. He has pleaded not guilty in the June 17 execution-style slaying of Odin Lloyd, a semipro football player and friend from Boston. Hernandez also faces five gun-related charges.

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Initially, the team wanted to limit the exchange to youth jerseys but soon realized that it would be easier — and fairer — to include all the Hernandez jerseys. That necessitated the early store opening; all employees had to report to work on what otherwise would have been a slow weekend.

Karen Bessette drove from Smithfield, R.I., once the home of the Patriots’ training camp, to make her exchange.

“I got it as a Christmas present last year,” she said, eyeing a Brady jersey as a replacement. “It didn’t matter to me who it was, really. I’m just a big fan, so any player would have been fine.”

She said the news about Hernandez was shocking and added, “I think I’m safe with Tom.”

Those were the sentiments expressed by 14-year-old Dylan Wallace of Attleboro, Mass., who was accompanied by his mother, Karen. Dylan works at a nearby supermarket and said he bought the Hernandez jersey with his first paycheck. He was holding a red Brady jersey.

Ortega remained undecided well into his visit to the store. Like Bessette, he is a die-hard fan who has been to just one Patriots game. With three children, three dogs and a mother-in-law living at home, he said he did not foresee being able to go to a game anytime soon.

“I’d like to go with someone who has been here a while,” he said. He was leaning toward Ridley, a third-year running back from Louisiana State. “I like him. And all of our receivers have gone.”

As the day progressed, fans continued to walk in, holding their tickets, directed to the appropriate rows for the exchange. One man walked in with his family and said he was there simply to shop. He jokingly asked one of the employees: “How about my Welker jersey? Can I exchange that, too?”

Wes Welker left the Patriots in March after six seasons, signing as a free agent with the Denver Broncos. His No. 83 was not available for exchange, but the $249.95 version had been marked down to $75 on the shop’s Web site.

A version of this article appears in print on July 7, 2013, on Page SP5 of the New York edition with the headline: Patriots Take Back Hundreds of Unwanted Hernandez Jerseys. Order Reprints|Today's Paper|Subscribe